CFL MARKETING IDEAS

Just musing about getting more interest in the CFL in the provinces where they operate:

Most of my time is spent in BC so I'll just focus there:

Kelowna: A lovely city about 3.5 hours from Vancouver:

I'd establish a Lions bus in Kelowna with residents able to get to game together, tickets and hotels included. Arrive the evening before the game, leave the day after the game. Special rates.

Kamloops: Another nice city:
Same strategy as Kelowna

In Vancouver: Establish a section for all high schools football teams be able to sit at reduced cost. All players can purchase Lions clothing at cost.

Any other locales want to make suggestions?

In Toronto, it would be a great idea to get a special section with cheap tickets for all students. When I was a kid, A&P would sell endzone tickets for $0.99 with the purchase of $5 worth of groceries. It was a great deal, and allowed me to go to games as a 10-12 year old. That is where I really developed my love for the team.

yeah...great idea.

my older relatives became lifelong Eskie fans by becoming Knot Hole Gang Members in Edmonton back in the day which got them into EE games for next to nothing. Endzone seats for a 14 year olds translated into several season tickets holders for 40 years.

The Lions would have to do some type of marketing study to see if there is enough interest in Kelowna.
No point in laying on a bus etc if there are no CFL fans in Kelowna.
Or if there was any interest in the CFL in Kelowna then maybe a travel agent would have thought about it and organized some type of weekend in Vancouver, tour Stanley park etc including a Lions game.

Sure thing slim.
You have any ideas for your own locale?

I doubt it. It would go against his debbie downer trolling of anything CFL.

Ok PL...
Any ideas from you?

I think one of the biggest issues in Toronto is making people aware the Argos are playing. You can't get people to games in they don't know they are happening.

I’ve done this before on Argofans.com, so I’ll just post the links.

[url=http://www.argofans.com/showthread.php?3360-ideas-for-in-coming-president-Michael-Copeland&p=73242&viewfull=1#post73242]http://www.argofans.com/showthread.php? ... #post73242[/url] [url=http://www.argofans.com/showthread.php?3360-ideas-for-in-coming-president-Michael-Copeland&p=73250&viewfull=1#post73250]http://www.argofans.com/showthread.php? ... #post73250[/url]

and while not marketing ideas; I’d like to see a few changes in Winnipeg as well.
#1. Cut capacity from 33,000 to 30,500, eliminating a large chunk of the endzones or tear down one endzone and put a patio deck in it’s place. Too many seats in IGF imo - in 1978 they renovated old Winnipeg stadium to just under 33,000 and the team still continued to sell around 28,000. 30,000-30,500 is perfect for that market.

#2. Ticket prices, especially the bottom end need to go down. $28 being the lowest price point is too high IMO. Plus the endzone prices being over $30 is too high - endzones IMO should always be the cheapest or second cheapest. CFL teams as a whole seem to have this problem of bottom end ticket prices being too high.

#3. Win - The fans and City of Winnipeg have shown time and time again that they’re starving for a winner. If the team starts winning on a consistent basis the place will be packed.

I have a few ideas on marketing.

I thought the league could help promote the October Women’s Cancer month and could also also help in promoting the team itself. If you remember seeing the Leafs and Canadian’s teams doing a team photo shoot when they were dressed as something else. (Fishermen, Miners etc.) I thought each CFL team could start this year as a “Doctor photo” on billboards throughout the team area promoting Women’s Cancer in Sept Oct. Every team do it all at the same time every year and change up the theme photos - scattered on billboards throughout the town. Helps promote Women’s Cancer and helps themselves

Also thought that each team could give a “TSN promotional number” on the back of game tickets. We could use this number on the Bell/TSN site for a monthly discount to TSN. Then fans, TSN and the CFL would be true partners. Accountants need to figure this out but cost could be buried somehow into ticket cost, concessions, fan apparel, corporate sponsorships etc. etc.

Liked what the RR did with their Florida Mini camp at “Dodgertown” Vero beach. Could each team have these camps for a week in Florida. 1st and 2nd days as free agent camps, then player check in with fitness and weight goals and then veterans camp near the end of the week. If it is the same time at the same place every year fans of the team may follow. League gets the exposure in the US and Canada

Each teams promotional give aways could include player cards from their home team, given to young fans at a game. Everyone under a certain age wearing a team hat or sweater would receive these “hockey cards”. Helps promote the team with these young fans. The cards will be at school the next day.

Every team have 1 game a year as a “Women’s Day”. Some of the teams are doing this now but could all teams pick a certain game each year and promote it as a Women’s Day?.

Thanks.

I like that idea of mini camps being a steady presence somewhere where people can get to. Never really understood why it has to be out of province though.

That TSN number is interesting too along with the other thoughts you have.

If I'm in BC I always go to the Lions training camp for a couple of days, tie it in with a bit of a holiday. Golf, food, drink.

Its in Kamloops at a beautiful College location, nice field, seating, overlooking the mountains.

Never do they engage the few fans in attendance and that seems like wasted opportunity to build some good will. Wouldn't take much.

Listen up A few years back we made a presentation for a franchise in Kelowna for a CFL TEAM, and it look very promising. however city council decided to build the mission creek complex with indoor track ,soccer fields, water park and NOT proceed with the football stadium. Had that been built people from Vancouver would be traveling to the okanagan enjoying the the hot weather, good friends and getting a discount on travel stays whilewatching a great team.
" the Fire ‘’

Listen up hey? hahaha. Nice.
OK.

Marketing the CFL :

 1 engage the youth and borrow the NFL  program of giving away flag football games to any school interested .
 2 engage families with the traditions elements and team colours like the NFL does with great ads 
 3 engage communities and continue with sponsors like Nissan with building fields and getting equipment 
 4 engage new technology and develop a CFL game already   
 5 engage the new streaming  fan with free games and lots of ads 
 6 engage the development of the CFL player with partnerships with CIS and JR Football 
 7 engage that one lone high end sponsor who will present the game with a higher presence in the market place
 8 engage CFL history by producing more high end film like NFL films they have done it to a small degree already 
     with this is our league video and the actual NFL films did two of our Grey Cups and build a proper hall of fame     at Tim Horton's Field.

Great ideas :thup:

The Lions used to provide discount tickets to high school players in the 90’s, but discontinued the practice. (big mistake)

Ditto out here in Vancouver. Remember getting Safeway tickets for Lions games for $5. Loved the feeling that I could afford game tickets even as a child. Great way to get youth engaged to CFL football

East-Van..do you still go to Lions games?

Promote the hell out of the Grey Cup. Make winning it more of a source of pride for Canadians, much like the Stanley Cup. This will have the result of separating the league from the NFL somewhat as well, since they can't compete for it.

Promote the great things that make the Canadian game unique, field size, rules etc.

And finally promote the league's stars more, particularly the Canadians.

It seems the league might finally be getting their act together on league wide marketing based on what is in the works for the new Adidas uniform launch.

[url=http://3downnation.com/2016/04/20/cfl-brings-together-stars-and-rivals-for-big-promo-push/]http://3downnation.com/2016/04/20/cfl-b ... romo-push/[/url]
On Tuesday night, Ticats kick returner Brandon Banks ate dinner with men who, under normal circumstances, would be trying to knock his head off clean off his slender shoulders.

To his left was B.C. Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian. On his right, Saskatchewan defensive end Shawn Lemon. Former teammate and now Toronto Argonaut Bryan Hall was a couple of seats away, talking constantly.

Banks was one of 50 players from all nine teams who were brought to Toronto over the past two days for series of photo shoots and promotional activities designed to help boost the CFL’s profile – and that of its stars. In past seasons, TSN and league promos were filmed during training camp with a limited number of players and resources.

Not this time around. Receiver Luke Tasker, another of the seven Ticats in attendance (Simoni Lawrence, Ted Laurent, Zach Collaros, C.J. Gable and Chad Owens were the others) said the set up was vastly different from his previous three seasons with the club and included a session on a Mississauga sound stage featuring state-of-the-art cameras.

“We’re getting the big time treatment,? Tasker said. “It does feel different, especially when compared to the shoots we’ve done in the past. It seems like it’s at a higher level.?

The players were flown in from across North America, put up in a downtown hotel and given a stipend of around $1,000 for their time. There was a lounge with an impressive food spread and each player received a bag full of hats, shirts and other clothing items. The cost was shared by the league, broadcaster TSN and new apparel sponsor Adidas, who will unveil new uniforms next month.

Banks modelled the new look for his photo shoot – which included a body-mounted 360 degree camera – but was then sworn to secrecy. He was able to provide a quick review, however.

“I love them, I really do. It’s a different look and they got a little bit more swagger to it,? he said

“It’s not crazy but you can tell that changes have been made.

“Feel good, play good. I can’t wait to show everybody.?

The investment by league and its partners comes at a critical time. While attendance remains strong, television rating for broadcaster TSN have declined the past two seasons. A recent survey of Canadian sports found that interest in the CFL remained high – behind hockey, on par with baseball and well ahead of the NBA and MLS – but that its support was weakest in the critical 18-to-34 age bracket.

The league and its teams have invested heavily in social media and web content – Collaros took over the league’s Twitter account for a question and answer session with fans on Tuesday – and is hoping to leverage this week’s sessions to a significant amount of quality – and innovative – content.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed by players, who are more than willing to do their part, says Tasker.

“You get a sense that the league is going in the right direction, that it’s getting bigger and stronger,? he said.

We’ll see how much media coverage the unveil gets. That will be some indication of whether the CFL’ s promotional efforts have improved.